#SomethingWickedTour @MaeClair1 @StoryEmpire
Hello everyone. Welcome to the third day of the Story Empire Author’s Something Wicked Tour. Today, it gives me great pleasure to welcome my fellow author and friend Mae Clair. Get ready for Something Wicked >>>
The Spooky House Thanks for hosting me today, Harmony! It’s fun to be here with your readers kicking off my third stop of Story Empire’s Something Wicked Blog Tour. October is a fun time that brings plenty of shivers and goosebumps as we draw closer to Halloween. Today, I want to wind back the clock to the spooky house in my neighborhood. Almost every community or town had one. When I was six, the spooky house was tucked on an urban, tree-lined street, two doors down from where my family lived. A brooding three-story structure of gray stone with a sprawling covered front porch, white columns, and side bump-outs, it oozed mystery. The adults might have been oblivious, but all the neighborhood kids knew it was haunted. No one actually lived there. It had been converted for business offices with a huge rear parking lot butting against an alley. The lot was sectioned off with lengths of heavy chain strung between squat cement pilings. We’d see people come and go, swallowed up inside, but there were never many cars in the lot. Naturally, we were suspicious. My friends and I were convinced a coven of witches met there. If you ventured too close to the sides where the shadows were thickest, you’d be sucked up into a coffin hidden beneath the eaves. No one would know what happened because an evil twin—capable of fooling everyone—would take your place. (Hmm…I wonder if this is how my love of weaving stories first bloomed?) The house had a resident ghost who lived on the second floor. We knew this because a trio of beautiful stained-glass windows framed the south-facing room, an ideal spot for a ghost to languish. Our phantom was female, a melancholy soul who’d been separated from her true love and imprisoned by the witches because they were jealous. She spent her time listening to an old-fashioned music box while weeping and looking romantically tragic in a flowing white dress. (It’s amazing what six-year-olds can envision when inspired by Dark Shadows and Quentin Collins!) Once, when we were swinging on the metal chains in the parking lot—kids do dumb things when adults aren’t around—one of the neighborhood boys fell and cracked his head on the asphalt. It was a traumatic experience with a lot of screaming, crying, and blood splatter. I remember following the trail of blood down the alley and across a connecting street to his house a day later. The evidence stayed there a long time before the rain washed away the grisly reminder. Although Chester recovered, we were sure the witches had caused his fall, angry that we’d discovered their secrets. I don’t think he ever swung on the chains again. I’m not sure I did either. Not long after that, my family moved to the suburbs where I made new friends and found a new house to invent stories about. Why is it that old homes twine so effortlessly with the paranormal? In my Halloween-themed romantic suspense novel, Myth and Magic, I chose an old lodge in a secluded location for the setting. The house—once the site of an infamous murder in an earlier century—has long since been converted to a corporate retreat. No cell phones, laptops, internet, newspapers or television, just plenty of seclusion. It’s a place for business executives to “de-stress” and rejuvenate. But as Halloween approaches, strange occurrences plague the lodge and its guests—disembodied lights in the trees, damaged food stores, a ghostly woman in white (sound familiar?) ominous messages. When the local police are unable to make any headway, a private investigator is hired. But Caith Breckbill has reasons for not wanting to return to Coldcreek, Pennsylvania, much less with his nine-year-old son. Sometimes real life is more frightening than the supernatural, and Caith’s memories of the town where he grew up are filled with monsters far deadlier than any phantom. If you enjoy spooky old houses, mystery, romance, and strong family dynamics, I’d like to recommend Myth and Magic. Halloween reading never goes out of style. BLURB: AS CHILDREN THEY PLAYED GAMES OF MYTH AND MAGIC… Veronica Kent fell in love with Caith Breckwood when they were children. As a teenager, she was certain he was the man she was destined to marry. But a traumatic event from Caith’s past led him to fear a future together. He left Veronica, hoping to save her from a terrible fate. Twelve years later, Caith, now a P.I., is hired to investigate bizarre incidents at the secluded retreat Veronica manages. Returning to his hometown, Caith is forced to face his nightmares—and his feelings for the woman he’s always loved. THEN ONE DAY THE MONSTERS BECAME REAL. After the callous way Caith broke her heart, Veronica isn’t thrilled to see him again. But strange occurrences have taken a dangerous toll on business at Stone Willow Lodge. Forced to work together, Veronica discovers it isn’t ghostly apparitions that frighten her, but her passion for a man she has never forgotten. Or forgiven. Can two people with a tarnished past unearth a magical future? UNIVERSAL PURCHASE LINK Connect with Mae Clair at BOOKBUB and the following haunts: Amazon | BookBub | Newsletter Sign-Up Website | Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | All Social Media
Here are the rest of the tour stops for you:
- Craig is hosting Staci, who is talking about alien technology.
- Joan is hosting P.H., who is talking about The Banshee Curse.
- Mae is hosting Harmony, who is talking about people coming back from the dead.
- P.H. is hosting Joan, who is talking about Stalkers.
- Staci is hosting Craig, who is talking about his main character(s).
Mae, I lived next door to one that look oddly like the house from Amittyville Horror. There were several creepy stories about the house and my brother’s friend who was rather bold and not easily scared but there were times he was alone in the house and would just show up at ours rather spooked. His sister was once surprised in the basement by an intruder. It had one way in and out. She ran upstairs, locked the door and called the police. They found no one in the entirely below-ground basement. Very spooky!
Enjoyed the post today!
And I might add she had just entered so no one followed her into the basement. Sorry for the run-on sentence – you got me excited about the topic!
It’s a great topic today! One that resonates with so many of us. Thanks, PH 🙂
I completely got it. I was so excited to reply, I didn’t scroll down further to see your second comment, LOL!
That completely freaks me out, P.H. There is definitely story fodder there, especially with the “intruder” in the basement. I wonder if the house had any history or folklore associated with it. Great share!
Another book of Mae’s that I absolutely loved! And is it any surprise when she writes lines like this: We’d see people come and go, swallowed up inside
So, so visual <3
Incredibly visual! Thanks, Jacquie 🙂
Hi, Jacquie. Your comment really made me smile, Thank you! 🙂
And I’m so glad you liked Myth and Magic. I loved playing with the Halloween theme in that one!
Good one, Mae. Thanks, Harmony
Thanks, John. Mae did great today 😊
Thanks so much for visiting, John!
I like books about haunted houses, Mae. I always remember the Marsten House in Salem’s Lot and, of course, the infamous Overlook Hotel. A most interesting sounding book, Mae. Thanks for hosting, Harmony.
Ooh, I loved both of those! Thanks, Robbie 😊
Salem’s Lot is tied with my alt-time favorite King read (The Shining). I’m honored that my spooky house contours such comparisons. Thanks, Robbie!
This is so creepy, Mae, but oh so enticing. Your descriptions are vivid in such detail, as always.
“No one would know what happened because an evil twin—capable of fooling everyone—would take your place.” What a brilliant idea for a story!
Thanks for hosting, Harmony. Cheers to you both! 🙂
LOL! It’s pretty amazing to think what we came up with when we were kids. I still have a strange sense of wonder and awe about the spooky house in our old neighborhood I hope never to lose.
Thanks so much visiting, Natalie!
Very enticing. Thanks, Natalie 😊
Boy, I like the sounds of this story! Just added it to my TBR list.
That’s fantastic, Judi! 😊
Oh, so good to know, Judi. I’m thrilled you’re going to give it a go!
It’s one of my early books. Lots of mystery, but romance, too. And a Halloween setting.
I hope you enjoy. Thank you!!
This reminded me of our local haunted house. What stores we came up with, too, as kids. I love the creativity of children and very glas some carry it over into adulthood.
We also had a farmer of myth who had supposedly shot a kid for trespassing! Never did find out if there was any truth to it! Thanks, Denise 😊
And those are the kind of stories kids passed around! Back in the day it was spooky-maybe stuff. Today, sadly, it could be possible!
It’s almost like a rite of passage when you’re a kid to have a spooky house in your neighborhood or community. I think it’s one of the first things kids start imagining or speculating about. At least we did.
And I’m one of those who carried that love for unusual and weird over into adulthood, LOL.
Oh, spooky houses can certainly come alive in the mind and eyes of a child. I loved this story about your childhood imaginings. 🙂 I’m sure it was the beginning of your artistic story creations. And, how is it that this book has escaped my attention? I thought I’d read every Mae Clair book there is, but somehow I missed this one. It’s now on my Kindle! Thanks for sharing, Mae, and thanks for hosting, Harmony!
I see imagination as both blessing and curse, lol … sometimes I just scare myself too much!! Thanks, Jan 😊
Harmony, I’ve done that, too. I can freak myself out with little effort, LOL.
Oh, yay! You made my day, Jan!
I’m so excited you’re going to read it. The characters really hold a warm place in my heart. Thank you!!
And, yes, I think that old spooky house was key to spurring my imagination in the direction of all things odd and unusual. I never outgrew that phase, LOL!
Mae, thanks for a fun post today. Haunted houses always intrigue my muse, lol 😊
Harmony, thanks so much for hosting me. I love the idea of old spooky houses….although I’d never set foot in one, LOL.
Looks like all my paragraph breaks got lost in the HTML. Sorry about that. Next time, I’ll ditch the HTML. Sometimes it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
Sorry I didn’t catch that, Mae!
No worries. It’s a problem with HTML. Oh, the joys of technology, LOL!
I wonder if all authors have that spooky old house in common. We invaded an abandoned house in my hometown as fifth graders. We got caught and yelled at. For some strange reason, it burned down about two weeks later. I always wonder if someone was hiding a secret there and the burning was a result of our childish dares to go inside.
Ooh, now that sounds way intriguing, Craig 😊
I know you have a ton of fiction waiting to be written, but that would make an awesome story. Maybe a short, for your next collection!
It could. Give it kind of a Goonies mood.
I recently read Myth and Magic and enjoyed it immensely. Nice to hear your story of the real places that inspired the story. There is something about old houses that leave much to the imagination.
I love spooky old houses. Thanks, Joan 😊
I still remember that old creepy house from the neighborhood. A lot of stories were borne around that place.
And I’m so glad you enjoyed Myth and Magic. I just reread it because I was thinking of using a certain (ahem) someone as the lead in my NaNo project. I’ve since decided to go with my original idea, but he would have fit 🙂